StoneCo (NASDAQ:STNE) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

StoneCo Ltd. (NASDAQ:STNE) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $8.74, but opened at $8.25. StoneCo shares last traded at $8.52, with a volume of 811,125 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on STNE shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of StoneCo to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Barclays dropped their price objective on StoneCo from $13.00 to $12.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 18th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on StoneCo from $22.00 to $19.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on StoneCo from $21.00 to $15.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $9.00 price objective (down previously from $19.00) on shares of StoneCo in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, StoneCo presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $14.75.

StoneCo Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a PE ratio of 6.67, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 2.23. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $9.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 1.42.

Institutional Trading of StoneCo

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its position in shares of StoneCo by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 19,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 1,773 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of StoneCo by 1.5% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 123,275 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,478,000 after purchasing an additional 1,848 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc grew its position in shares of StoneCo by 19.0% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 20,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 3,241 shares during the last quarter. Koa Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of StoneCo by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Koa Wealth Management LLC now owns 160,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,810,000 after purchasing an additional 3,289 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in StoneCo by 40.9% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 13,350 shares of the company’s stock valued at $150,000 after buying an additional 3,878 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.19% of the company’s stock.

StoneCo Company Profile

StoneCo Ltd. provides financial technology and software solutions to merchants and integrated partners to conduct electronic commerce across in-store, online, and mobile channels in Brazil. It distributes its solutions, principally through proprietary Stone Hubs, which offer hyper-local sales and services; and sells solutions to brick-and-mortar and digital merchants through sales team.